A North East financial services firm has adopted an innovative approach to advising clients on their post-retirement plans.
Explore Wealth Management, which is based in Cramlington, Northumberland has invested in a digital cashflow forecasting tool, which uses an easy-to-interpret, ‘traffic light’ colour coding system to provide a visual means of demonstrating financial security to its client base.
Managing director at Explore Wealth Management, Stephen Sumner said:
“For many people, the prospect of retirement can be really daunting and can raise a lot of concerns about future financial security.
“A lot of clients have come to me over the years, looking for advice about retirement, and nine times out of ten the first question they ask me is: ‘Will I have enough money to live on?’
“Other commonly asked questions raised by those planning their retirement include: ‘Can I still afford to go on holiday?’, ‘Can I still afford to replace my car?’ or, ‘If I were to die, would my partner still be financially secure?’
“By using a cashflow forecasting tool, not only can we can provide the answers to all of these questions and more, we can also help to provide peace of mind to potential retirees by physically showing them their savings and investments are secure in a visual way.”
While a lot of people spend their working lives looking forward to retirement, the actual process of retiring can be entirely different from one person to the next.
For some people, retirement means selling-up their own businesses in search of a quieter life; whereas others may just be retiring because they want to, or because early retirement has been offered to them by their employer.
No matter the circumstances however, the process of finding out if you can afford to retire is the same at Explore Wealth Management.
Stephen explained how the software works:
“Our clients supply us with a breakdown of their first years’ likely expenditure upon retirement, and from this, we can establish through the cashflow forecasting tool whether their existing pensions and savings will be enough to cover their needs for the rest of their lives.
“I recently met with a lady who had just became a grandparent for the first time. Her daughter was planning to return to work, so through our cashflow planning system, we were able to demonstrate to the lady that she could afford to give up her job to become a full time grandmother.
“On another occasion, I met a company rep who was tired of travelling and constantly being away from home. We talked about his expenditure needs in retirement and we were able to demonstrate to him that not only could he afford to retire early; he could also afford to buy a holiday home in Spain.
“So with cashflow forecasting, the prospect of retirement need not be so daunting.”
Explore Wealth Management is one of the largest, independently owned financial advice companies in the UK. The company prides itself on its straight-talking, honest approach to financial planning, and was recently voted amongst the top 250 IFA companies in the country in an independent survey conducted by Vouched For.
To find out how Explore Wealth Management could help you plan for the future, call 0191 285 1555 or visit:www.explorewealth.co.uk.